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Olympe Maxime
and seen in , states that he is 11'6". Harry claims in that there was only roughly an inch difference at most in the heights of Maxime and Hagrid. |hair=Brown |eyes=Black |skin=Olive - "As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose." |hidef= |family=*Mother *Father |hidem=hide |animagus= |boggart= |wand=Unknown length, wood and core |patronus= |hidea= |job=Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (before 1994 - ?) |house= |loyalty=*Beauxbatons Academy of Magic *Order of the Phoenix *Maxime family |nationality = French}} Madame Olympe Maxime was a French half-giant witch and was the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Maxime's preferred mode of transportation was to travel with her students in a powder-blue carriage drawn by twelve winged Abraxan horses, which are bred at Beauxbatons Academy. Madame Maxime was a half-giantess, although she claims merely to have "big bones." This was a necessity, however, as the approach to giants (or part-giants) is generally hostile in the wizarding world. Biography Early life Olympe Maxime was born to one magical parent and one giant, making her a half-giantess. She kept this heritage hidden, out of fear of the prejudice that would strike her were it to be revealed. She was likely educated at Beauxbatons in France, where she later became Headmistress. It is unknown exactly when she became Headmistress of Beauxbatons. 1980s In the 1985–1986 school year, she visited Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Beauxbatons student Aurélie Dumont. At Hogwarts, she met Penny Haywood and Jacob's sibling. 1994-1995 In August 1994, Madame Maxime attended the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup in England with some of her students. When the Dark Mark was conjured by Barty Crouch Jr, they got separated. While trying to find her, her students asked Ronald Weasley if he had seen her. Ron, who did not speak any French, did not understand the question and was therefore unable to help them. Maxime and some of her students went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in October of 1994 for the Triwizard Tournament. She made such an impact on Professor Rubeus Hagrid that he immediately started trying to impress her: he tried to tame his hair, wore his best ill-fitting clothes, and even showed her the Triwizard Tournament dragons while they were still meant to be a secret. Given his lack of social graces, however, this was not so successful. It is unclear whether she was impressed by this, but either way, Hagrid scuppered any chance he might have had at the Yule Ball. It was here that he put it to Olympe that she was a half-giant just like him —'' he was right, of course, but she was not inclined to concede such a point. Because of this line of questioning she avoided his company. However, Harry noticed that she did attempt to re-initiate contact with Hagrid, while he dug in his garden. Apparently Hagrid did not warmly greet her and she left soon after. However the two reconciled eventually. When Harry returned clutching the body of Cedric Diggory, Olympe was one of the first to realise that he was dead and clutched her heart in shock, after he had been murdered by Peter Pettigrew in the Little Hangleton graveyard on Voldemort's orders, after him and Harry were transported there via the Triwizard Cup (which had been turned into a Portkey). She was also present during the memorial feast of Cedric Diggory after the end of the Tournament. Afterwards, she and her students returned to France to Beauxtbatons. During the summer of 1995 Rubeus Hagrid and Madame Maxime visited the giants as envoys for Albus Dumbledore. Hagrid described her spellwork as "brilliant". She separated from Hagrid during the return journey, however, because he would not abandon his half-brother Grawp, who proved to be a highly taxing travelling companion; she returned to Beauxbatons alone. 1997 In 1997, Madame Maxime was among those paying respects at Dumbledore's funeral. She and Hagrid comforted each other during this occasion, though this may have been inspired solely by the emotion of the moment. She also attended the wedding of Bill Weasley and former Beauxbatons student Fleur Delacour later on that same year. Later life It is unknown if she and Hagrid ever rekindled their relationship, although ultimately they never married.J. K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall During the Calamity, Madame Maxime was known for helping members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force who took a short sabbatical to Beauxbatons to study her transformative duelling style to increase the amount of damage they can inflict. She also appeared as a Foundable alongside Hagrid as they appeared together at the Yule Ball, being pelted by snowballs from a Pixie Confoundable. Physical appearance Madam Maxime was described to be a handsome woman: an olive-skinned face with a beak-like nose and large, black, liquid-looking eyes. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She dresses from head to foot in black satin, and is laden with opal jewellery. Despite her size, she is elegant and graceful, and Dumbledore once stated that she was a wonderful dancer. She is also a swift duellist, being able to cast two Conjunctivitis Curses within seconds of each other. Maxime's huge size is due to her half-giant background. Initially, she fiercely denied this, claiming that she merely had "big bones". Harry noted he "had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid; he doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights". Personality and traits and Olympe]] Madam Maxime appeared to have a good relationship with her students. She was also shown to have a sense of fair play: she felt it was unjust that Harry Potter had also been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament (which gave Hogwarts two champions), and at first she refused to believe that Harry had not actually put his name in the Goblet of Fire. However, she did not judge Harry unfairly during the Triwizard Tournament's tasks, giving him an 8 out of 10 (though slightly lower than most of the others', it was far fairer than Karkaroff's four) in the first task. Later on, she willingly gave Harry full marks in the second task for moral fibre, despite Karkaroff only awarding him half marks, showing she was a very impartial and reasonable judge of character. However, Olympe was ashamed of being a half-giant, and claimed that she was simply "big-boned". Though Hagrid described her as a fine, well-dressed woman, Maxime did not complain once about having to climb over boulders or sleep in caves during her and Hagrid's mission to visit the giants, which in turn implies that - despite her denial of her heritage - she was still a realistic woman who knew how to accept her circumstances for what they were. She also had a fiery temper and Hagrid had to restrain her from attacking two Death Eaters during the mission, leading him to speculate that this may be due to the French in her. Magical abilities and skills As the Headmistress of a prominent European Wizarding school, Madame Olympe Maxime was a highly competent and accomplished witch deserving of the title bestowed upon her. *'Magical Mastery': Rising to the level of Headmistress at Beauxbatons Academy, despite the prejudice surrounding Giants, it is suffice to say that Madame Maxime was a very powerful and sophisticated witch, with her spell-work and prowess in Martial magic greatly impressing Rubeus Hagrid. *'Duelling': Though she was never shown actually fighting, Maxime had proven herself to be a highly capable duellist, since Rubeus Hagrid claimed that Madam Maxime performed an excellent Conjunctivitis Curse during their mission to rescue him when he was ambushed by the giants under Golgomath's command. He also said that she was able to do very fast spell-work. *'Care of Magical Creatures': At Beauxbatons, Maxime bred Abraxans (Winged horses), showing she was talented and experienced in the field of Magizoology. *'Spell resistance': As a half-giant, Maxime had inherited the passive ability to resist many spells. *'Nonverbal magic': Maxime was also proficient in Nonverbal magic and conjured ribbon from the end of her wand without uttering an incantation. Her talent in nonverbal magic was testament to her superior magical abilities as a witch, given the high level of difficulty required in the casting of nonverbal spells. Relationships Rubeus Hagrid ]]During the Triwizard Tournament, Hagrid began a romantic relationship with Madame Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy. They were often seen together, talking and walking around the grounds, and they danced together at the Yule Ball. Though the two had a minor falling-out when Hagrid implied (correctly) that Maxime, like him, was part giant, they eventually reconciled and travelled together to appeal to the giants of the Northern colonies and dissuade them from joining forces with Voldemort. Maxime was also seen comforting Hagrid during Albus Dumbledore's funeral. The current status of their relationship is unknown, but as Hagrid never got married, it can be assumed that their relationship did not work out. However, they likely remained good friends. Etymology Olympe is the French word for Olympus, the mountain home of the Greek gods. Maxime is French for "principle" (or "maxim"), a pun on "principal". It is derived from the Latin maxima, the feminine form of "maximus", meaning "greatest" or "biggest". Behind the scenes *Olympe Maxime is portrayed by English actress Frances de la Tour in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows: Part 1. British basketball player Ian Whyte portrayed her for the full-body shots. *In the latter she appears during the Wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, making her the only major character to appear in a film despite not appearing in the corresponding book. *In , Maxime is described as roughly the same height as Hagrid, whereas in the film adaptation she is considerably taller than him. Robbie Coltrane explained in an interview that it was due to her high heels. Also, in the books she is described as having olive skin and black hair while in the films, she has pale skin and brown hair. *"Madame" is French for "Mrs.", which implies that at some point, Maxime must have been married. Since she appears to be single upon meeting Hagrid, it is likely she divorced or is a widow. In French "madame" is also used for someone older than you, above you, or who commands respect, such as a teacher. *Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths both appeared in and the 2011 film Hugo. Also, they both appeared in the 2012 film, Private Peaceful. *In , Olympe and Hagrid's relationship was testy, much as it was in the books and films. Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * Notes and references de:Olympe Maxime es:Olympe Maxime fr:Olympe Maxime pl:Olimpia Maxime ru:Олимпия Максим fi:Olympe Maxime uk:Олімпія Максім Category:1994 Quidditch World Cup attendees Category:Beauxbatons staff Category:Beauxbatons students Category:Black-eyed individuals Category:Breeders Category:Females Category:French individuals Category:Half-breeds Category:Maxime family Category:Second Order of the Phoenix Category:Wizards